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Shortlist announced for Media Employer of the Year

The shortlist has been announced for the 2006 Pathfinders Media Employer of the Year award. The annual award aims to recognise the ability of companies in the marketing and communications industries to inspire and develop their employees.

The finalists are ZenithOptimedia, Intelligent Marketing, Fleishman-Hillard, Flextech Television, Kaizo and TriMedia. The

winner will be announced at an event in London on Wednesday 22 November.

Sue McLelland, divisional leader at Pathfinders said: "Despite the fact that the media industry is a popular career choice, it still has a reputation for failing to offer clear training and development opportunities for employees.

"However, this is changing, with a new breed of media employers emerging, who realise that their staff are their most valuable asset and design strategies to source and retain the best talent. Our six finalists represent the best that the media industry has to offer.

"Research from Pathfinders' annual 'Blue Book' salary survey highlights that 91% of graduates looking to work in the media place career development before money as the top priority when selecting a job. Organisations that clearly value and nurture their people are therefore immediately more appealing to candidates."

Patrick Barrow, managing director of PRCA and a member of the judging panel said: "An excellent standard of entries has made it onto the shortlist, with many business leaders clearly recognising the key contributions a structured approach to good employment can make. I was impressed by some of the thought that has gone into those processes and believe that this is indicative of the progress that the media industry has made."

The judges' top ten tips on being a top media employer are:

• Recognise that your people, with their ideas, creativity and brainpower are your best commodity.
• Invest time and resources in employing good people.
• Streamline your recruitment process, employing professional consultants to help you reach your key target audience, and filter applications.
• Once you have recruited good people, take measures to keep those people interested and engaged.
• Ensure that each role contains a rich variety of stimulating tasks and career progression opportunities.
• Have processes in place to ensure that hard work, creativity and achievements are rewarded appropriately and consistently.
• Devise innovative ways of developing your team, and obtain their input into this.
• Communicate openly with employees at all levels and encourage them to do the same.
• Keep it fun - allow room for socialising and team building activities.
• Obtain regular feedback from your team, monitoring their satisfaction levels through surveys and exit interviews to ensure that your organisation can adapt and change with your employees' needs.

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